Information processing system for manufacturing building material, building material manufacturing method and facility, and building information circulating system

ABSTRACT

An information processing system for producing a building material comprises a design drawing generating means for generating the design drawing information of an objective building, a list generating means for generating the list information of the members used for the objective building, and a member production control means for controlling the production of the members used for the objective building, based on the list information obtained by the list generating means.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a national stage application of PCT Application No.PCT/JP02/04857 which was filed on Jul. 26, 2002, and published on Feb.13, 2003 as International Publication No. WO 03/012562 (the“International Application”). This application claims priority from theInternational Application pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 365. The presentapplication also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 from JapanesePatent Application Nos. 2001-228169 and 2001-314230, filed on Jul. 27,2001 and Oct. 11, 2001, respectively, the entire disclosures of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an information processing system, abuilding material production method and production equipment forproducing a building material used for a steel house or, e.g., a panelformed by combining light gauge shape sheet steel, and a buildinginformation distribution system for distributing the steel housebuilding information using a network such as WAN (Wide Area Network). Asdescribed herein, a low building having a frame member and a face plateor a brace of a surface-treated light gauge shape steel for a buildingstructure can be referred to as a steel house. Also, the buildinginformation can include information regarding general drawings (designdrawing, structure drawing, equipment drawing, etc.) that can be used bybuilding contractors to construct a building.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The use of a steel house constituting a low building including a housebuilt of building materials such as a light gauge shape sheet steel andpanels has been recently extending as the result of improvement in theliving comfort, structure and production cost. One problem of a steelhouse is the building cost. In order to reduce the building cost, theworkability is improved by structural improvement of the buildingmaterials such as shape steel and panels or by improvement of theproduction system of the building materials. The present inventionrelates to a reduction of production costs of the building materials byimproving the productivity as due to improved production equipment andan improved production control system for the light gauge shape sheetsteel for a steel house.

In connecting the light gauge shape sheet steel, the time consumed forthe connecting work at the factory or the construction site can beshortened while at the same time siginificantly improving the connectiona strength of the shape steel by forming connecting holes in the framemember in advance. According to the present invention, a shape steelformed of sheet steel having a thickness of not less than 0.4 mm butless than 2.3 mmcan be used (called a light gauge shape sheet steel).Each of the fastening tools such as a tapping screw and a one-side rivetgenerally used for connecting the light gauge shape sheet steel are lowin connection strength as compared with the bolt used for an iron framebuilding. In order to secure a sufficient connection strength, manyfastening tools are usually utilize which in turn need a multiplicity offastening holes to be formed in the light gauge shape sheet steel forthe fastening tools.

In producing the light gauge shape sheet steel formed with fasteningholes, the fastening holes are generally formed with the sheet steelkept stationary before the roll forming step, but the fastening holesare not formed in the sheet steel moving after the step of straighteningthe curl caused by the leveler. An increased number of fastening holesformed with the sheet steel kept stationary extremely reduces theproduction efficiency. Also, in the case where the fastening holes areformed with the sheet steel kept stationary, a comparatively largewaiting table for holding the sheet steel in standby state is requiredas a buffer, and therefore a large space is required to install theproduction line. Further, the problem of a reduced overall production isposed depending on the productivity of the machine for forming thefastening holes.

On the other hand, a CAD system (Computer Aided Design system) can beused as a design aiding system in various fields. Also, a CAM system(Computer Aided Manufacturing system) may be used to control theproduction equipment for machining and assembly based on the dataobtained from the CAD system. In the field of the low house using lightgauge shape sheet steel, buildings and building materials, such as shapesteel and panels, have been designed using the CAD system. However, thebuilding materials are not produced using the CAD/CAM systems. In orderto produce building materials in accordance with the building designdata generated by CAD, therefore, various processes need to be executedmanually to move the building design data from CAD to the buildingmaterials production machine. This, in turn, reduces the productionefficiency of the building materials for a steel house.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-232320 describes a design aiding CADsystem for iron frame structures using a steel plate not thinner than2.3 mm and the data generated by the CAD system for machining in thefactory. The application field of this system disclosed in thepublication is limited to the iron frame structure and the system is notapplicable to the production of building materials from sheet steelhaving a thickness not less than 0.4 mm but less than 2.3 mm used for alow building. Also, the configuration described in this publication isnot a system for aiding the design and production by relating the CADsystem to the CAM system.

Accordingly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are providedto solve the problem of the prior art described above. One of theobjects of the present invention is to provide an information processingsystem, a building material production method and production equipmentcapable of efficiently producing a building material of a steel house.

The light gauge shape sheet steel can be classified into three typesincluding a general member used for general purposes of a steel house,an application member having the same cross section and the samefastening hole specification as the general member but a different shapeof the end portion connected to other shape steel, and a special memberhaving a unique shape and difficult to produce on a production lineadapted for the general member and the application member. In the priorart, therefore, the special member is unavoidably produced on aproduction line, for machining the special member, different from theproduction line for the general member and the application member. Theprovision of the two production lines including the one for the generalmember and the application member and the one for the special member notonly increases the installation area of the production lines but alsorequires an independent control system for controlling each productionline, thereby complicating the production control system.

In the conventional production control system for the light gauge shapesheet steel for a steel house, the productivity of the light gauge shapesheet steel for a steel house is generally reduced by the facts that (i)the work of opening the fastening holes for connecting the members isone factor reducing the productivity, (ii) the shape steel has differenttypes including the general member, the application member and thespecial member, and especially the existence of “the special member” isa factor reducing the working efficiency of the conventional productionequipment and the conventional production control system, (iii) thenecessity of opening a multiplicity of fastening holes requires longtime and a great amount of labor to fetch the information on thefastening holes such as the position, the shape and the machiningaccuracy of the fastening holes in the design stage, as the membercontrol information for the production control system, and (iv) theinformation on the positions of the fastening holes to be formed arecomplicated. Thus, another object of the present invention is to solvethe problems (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) described above.

Further, houses and other buildings are generally built individually byreflecting the propensity of each customer. Therefore, the designdrawing, the working drawing, the material order and the likeconstruction information prepared at the time of constructing a buildingare rarely reused. In recent years, the extension of ownership ofprefabricated houses has increased the chance of reusing the buildinginformation in the same company. For the reasons explained below,however, the building information are not generally reused betweendifferent companies.

(a) The standards of the members making up a building are not shared bycompanies.

(b) The building information is rarely reused as it is, and correctionto some degree is required. The manner in which the building informationis stored varies from one company to another. Especially, the buildinginformation which may be stored in the form of paper media cannot beeasily corrected.

(c) Conventionally, the building information are not very helpful toboth the party providing them and the party using them, and thereforeare not extensively used by other companies.

On the other hand, the building materials and the construction methodsof a steel house can be easily shared and the building information onthem can be distributed among a plurality of companies. Nevertheless,companies generally do not construct a building by reusing the buildinginformation of another building constructed by another company.

Another object of the present invention is to solve these problems ofthe prior art and to provide a building information distribution aidingsystem for distributing the building information through a network.

The entire disclosures of the references cited herein are incorporatedherein by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, an information processing system isprovided for producing a building material. The system includes a designdrawing generating arrangement for generating the design drawinginformation on an objective building, a list generating arrangement forgenerating the list information of members used for the objectivebuilding, based on the design drawing information obtained by the designdrawing generating arrangement, and a member production controlarrangement for controlling the production of the members used for theobjective building, based on the list information obtained by the listgenerating arrangement.

For example, in order to efficiently produce the members such as lightgauge shape sheet steel for a building or especially a steel house, thelight gauge shape sheet steel for a steel house is produced by the CADsystem and the CAN system, e.g., systems for assisting in controllingthe preparation for production such as the process design, the workdesign and the NC (numerically controlled) programming and theproduction process such as machining and assembly, in such a manner thatthe design drawings, including a wall panel drawing, a floor paneldrawing and a roof truss drawing, of a low building are first generatedon a computer. The specification and quantity of the light gauge shapesheet steel can be determined from these design drawings. Based on thesedrawings, a steel member order list may be prepared, and based on thissteel member order list information, the light gauge shape sheet steelcan be produced under a control of a computer.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, thespecification and the quantity of the light gauge shape sheet steel areautomatically determined from the design drawing information of a steelhouse, and based on them, a steel member order list is automaticallyoutput. Therefore, the material (steel member) totaling work requiredfor producing the light gauge shape sheet steel which has conventionallybeen conducted manually may be eliminated, either fully or to the largeextent. As a result, not only the transfer error is substantiallyeliminated, the whole work can be siginificantly simplified, and at thesame time, the complicated desk work for ordering steel members may bereduced.

addition, in view of the fact that the light gauge shape sheet steel isproduced using the information of the specification and the quantityinput to the computer, the light gauge shape sheet steel can be suppliedaccurately, rapidly and at low cost. Further, in case of a need of adesign change for some reason or other, the specification, the quantityand the contents of the order for the light gauge shape sheet steel areautomatically corrected very efficiently by correcting the originaldesign drawing information.

The light gauge shape sheet steel includes members formed of shape steelusing the sheet steel having a thickness not less than 0.4 mm but lessthan 2.3 mm and fittings and hardware.

Also, the specification of the light gauge shape sheet steel includesthe product standard, length and the quantity of the members and themember positioning information for assembling the members.

The specification of the light gauge shape sheet steel includes themember positioning information for assembling the members. Thus, therisk of machining a member for positioning not conforming with thedesign drawing is eliminated, and it is possible to machine the lightgauge shape sheet steel efficiently. The “member positioninginformation” (position machining information) generally includesinformation for determining the relative positions of the members beingassembled such as the positions of the bolt holes for assembling themembers, and the notching and embossing, and the like.

Further, by calculating the specification and the quantity of the lightgauge shape sheet steel for each panel used for a low building, thelight gauge shape sheet steel preferred for assembling a panel can beeasily specified, thereby making efficient assembly work possible. The“panel” (predetermined unit member) generally includes a wall panel anda floor panel configured of a plurality of the light gauge shape sheetsteel combined with one another.

Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, aproduction equipment is provided for producing the light gauge shapesheet steel for a steel house by supplying flat steel on a mainproduction line. The production line includes an uncoiler, a levelerarranged downstream of the uncoiler, an end portion cutter arrangeddownstream of the leveler, a waiting table arranged downstream of theend portion cutter, a stationary fastening hole forming machine arrangeddownstream of the waiting table and a roll forming machine arrangeddownstream of the stationary fastening hole forming machine. Inparticular, the equipment includes a non-stationary fastening holeforming machine for forming the fastening holes without stopping theflow of the sheet steel is arranged downstream of the levelerindependently of the stationary fastening hole forming machine.

Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, acomputer-controlled production control system is provided for producinglight gauge shape sheet steel for a steel house configured of a generalmember of the basic structure, an application member having only theshape of the end portion thereof different from that of the generalmember and a special member requiring a special machining process, by aproduction equipment for producing the light gauge shape sheet steel fora steel house, comprising a main production line including an uncoiler,a leveler arranged downstream of the uncoiler, an end portion cutterarranged downstream of the leveler, a waiting table arranged downstreamof the end portion cutter, a stationary fastening hole forming machinearranged downstream of the waiting table and a roll forming machinearranged downstream of the stationary fastening hole forming machine,and a special production line arranged in parallel to the mainproduction line. Using the control system, based on the member controlinformation of the production control system, the general member, theapplication member and the special member can be discriminated in thestep preceding to the leveler. The general member and the applicationmember can be produced on the main production line, while the specialmember, after being machined through the machining steps shared by thegeneral member and the application member on the main production line,is moved onto the special production line different from the mainproduction line, and after being machined to a unique shape, returned tothe main production line.

In the stationary fastening hole forming machine, the productionefficiency is reduced due to the fact that the fastening holes areformed by stopping the sheet steel temporarily during the line assemblywork to form the fastening holes in the work with high accuracy. In thenon-stationary fastening hole forming machine, the fastening holes canbe formed in the moving sheet steel. Thus, the production efficiency canbe improved, although the accuracy with which the fastening holes areformed is reduced as compared with the stationary fastening hole formingmachine.

As described herein, the fastening holes formed in the light gauge shapesheet steel of a steel house can be classified into holes of a highaccuracy and generally not depending on the position and purpose of theindividual holes. According to the present invention, based on thispoint, the fastening holes which do not need to have high accuracy areproduced by the non-stationary fastening hole forming machine on themain production line, and those holes that should be of high accuracy bythe stationary fastening hole forming machine thereby to improve theproductivity. By employing this production control system, theproduction efficiency of the whole production line of the light gaugeshape sheet steel of a steel house including the general member, theapplication member and the special member can be improved.

In contrast with prior art, according to the present inventioninvention, in designing a steel house with the CAD system, theinformation including the positions, shape and the machining accuracy ofthe fastening holes can be automatically generated in accordance withthe attributes of the individual members, and the fastening holeinformation thus generated are fetched into the member controlinformation. In this manner, a multiplicity of fastening holeinformation are efficiently obtained automatically at the same time asthe building design, so that the member control information of theproduction control system can be generated.

Also, according to the present invention, the shape of the shape steelis developed into a flat form, and the fastening hole positioninformation is controlled one-dimensionally along the length of themembers of each portion of the developed shape steel, so that theprocess of forming the fastening holes is easily controlled, therebymaking it possible to secure the versatility of the data.

Further, according to the present invention, a building informationdistribution aiding system is provided. The system includes a serverarrangement for providing a building information distribution site fordistributing the building information of buildings having a commonstandard of the material and the construction method, and a clientarrangement connectable with the server arrangement through a network.The system further comprise a first arrangement which allows the serverarrangement to list actual cases of buildings, a second arrangementallowing the client arrangement to select at least one of the actualcases listed in the case collection page, and a third arrangementallowing the building information corresponding to the selected actualcase to be downloaded into the client arrangement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention are explained below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an information processing systemaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of theinformation processing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the informationprocessing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen for setting thecross section, etc. of the light gauge shape sheet steel) of the displayunit of the information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen for setting thewall position and the positions of openings (opening size)) of thedisplay unit of the information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statein which the light gauge shape sheet steel are automatically arranged)of the display unit of the information processing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the stateof the wall divided into panels) of the display unit of the informationprocessing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the stateof hardware arranged automatically) of the display unit of theinformation processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statein which a plan view is automatically prepared) of the display unit ofthe information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statein which each panel drawing is automatically prepared) of the displayunit of the information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen for setting theassignment area of each floor panel) of the display unit of theinformation processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statein which each floor panel member is automatically arranged) of thedisplay unit of the information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statein which a floor plan is automatically prepared) of the display unit ofthe information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen for determiningthe roof area) of the display unit of the information processing systemshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statein which the roof truss members are automatically arranged) of thedisplay unit of the information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statein which the truss drawing is automatically prepared) of the displayunit of the information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statedeveloped (shape steel) into the truss members) of the display unit ofthe information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statedeveloped (hardware) into the truss members) of the display unit of theinformation processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining a screen (a screen showing the statein which the shape steel production data are automatically totaled) ofthe display unit of the information processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a general configuration of theproduction equipment of the light gauge shape sheet steel for a steelhouse according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing the step of the leveler of theproduction equipment of the light gauge shape sheet steel for a steelhouse according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing a system to generate thefastening hole information from the attributes of individual members indesigning a building by the CAD system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a system to generate the fastening holeinformation from the attributes of individual members in designing abuilding by the CAD system;

FIG. 24A is a sectional view of the shape steel for explaining a systemfor controlling the fastening hole position information of the shapesteel as one-dimensional information;

FIG. 24B is a development of the shape steel for explaining a system forcontrolling the fastening hole position information of the shape steelas one-dimensional information;

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram showing the general member, theapplication member and a particular member according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram showing a computer-controlled productioncontrol system for the light gauge shape sheet steel for a steel houseaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing a building informationdistribution aiding system according to the invention, which is adiagram showing the page in the building information distribution siteas a directory structure;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the process executed by the server andthe client in purchasing the building information;

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing the process executed by the sever and theclient in purchasing the members; and

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing the process executed by the server andthe client to sell new building information in the building informationdistribution aiding system according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained below withreference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, an information processing system 100 according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention can be used forefficiently producing the light gauge shape sheet steel for a steelhouse, and comprises a design drawing generating unit 101, an order listgenerating unit 102, a member production control unit 103, a storageunit 104, a display unit 105 and an operating unit 106.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a hardware configuration of theinformation processing system 100, the information processing system 100can be implemented by, for example, a computer 200.

The computer 200, as shown in FIG. 2, comprises a CPU 201, a ROM 202, aRAM 203, a keyboard controller (KBC) 205 of a keyboard (KB) 209, a CRTcontroller (CRTC) 206 of a CRT display (CRT) 210, a disk controller(DKC) 207 for a hard disk (HD) 211 and a flexible disk (FD) 212, and anetwork interface card (NIC) 208 of an arbitrary network 300. Thesecomponent parts are interconnected in a communicable manner.

The CPU 201 controls the component parts connected to a system bus 204by executing the software stored in the ROM 202 or the HD 211 or thesoftware provided from the FD 212. Specifically, the CPU 201 reads andexecutes a processing program conforming with a predetermined processingsequence from the ROM 202 or the HD 211 or the FD 212. Especially, theCPU 201 implements the design drawing generating unit 101, the orderlist generating unit 102 and the member production control unit 103shown in FIG. 1.

The RAM 203 functions as a main memory or a work area for the CPU 201.

The DKC 207 controls the access to the HD 211 and the FD 212 storing aboot program, various applications, an editing file, a user file and apredetermined processing program for executing the functions of thisembodiment.

The storage unit 104 shown in FIG. 1 includes the RAM 203, the ROM 202,the hard disk (HD) 211, the flexible disk (FD) 212 and the diskcontroller (DKC) 207, and stores such data as the basic design drawing(design drawing, etc.) for a steel house, in addition to the variousprocessing programs.

The KBC 205 controls the input from the input devices such as the KB 209and a pointing device (not shown for the sake of clarity). The operatingunit 106 shown in FIG. 1 includes the KB 209 and the KBC 205.

The CRTC 206 controls the display of the CRT 210. The display unit 105shown in FIG. 1 includes the CRT 210 and the CRTC 206.

The NIC 208 exchanges data interactively with the devices or the systemson the network 300.

The information processing system 100 according to this embodiment isconfigured so that the light gauge shape sheet steel for a steel housecan be efficiently produced. In order to conform with steel houses ofvarious designs, the light gauge shape sheet steel and the panel arerequired to be designed and produced independently for each building.Also, by opening and accurately setting in position the fastening holesin the light gauge shape sheet steel and assembling the members, thesteel house can be constructed most efficiently with high accuracy.

The light gauge shape sheet steel for a steel house configured of sheetsteel having a thickness of no less than 0.4 mm but less than 2.3 mm,for example, can be efficiently and accurately produced with a rollforming machine or a turret punching machine controlled by the CAMsystem. This, the fastening holes can be opened at more accuratepositions.

Accordingly, in the information processing system 100 according to thisexemplary embodiment of the present invention, the design drawinggenerating unit 101, the order list generating unit 102 and the memberproduction control unit 103 shown in FIG. 1 are such that theinformation obtained in the CAD system is operatively interlocked withthe CAM system by designing the panel drawing (design drawing) for eachbuilding by the CAD system and burying the information such as the shapeand the fastening holes of each light gauge shape sheet steel in theinformation (design drawing information) of the panel drawing. As aresult, the productivity of the steel house can be improved.

The CPU 201 of the computer 200 executes the processing program inaccordance with the flowchart of FIG. 3. As a result, the informationprocessing system 100 operates as follows:

Step S101: The design drawing generating unit 101, based on theinformation input from the user by the CAD system using the computer200, generates design drawings including a wall panel drawing, a floorpanel drawing and a roof truss drawing for a steel house using theinformation stored beforehand in the storage unit 104.

The CAD system includes modules for producing the working drawings forthree portions including the wall panel, the floor panel and the rooftruss member making up the steel house, and each of the working drawinggenerating modules executes the following steps:

-   -   (1) The step of designing the plan view and calculating the        proof stress of the steel house.    -   (2) The step of determining the shape of the cross section of        the light gauge shape sheet steel constituting the wall panel        and the floor panel.    -   (3) The step of determining the arrangement and the openings of        the wall panel of the steel house.    -   (4) The step of automatically generating a working drawing        (panel working drawing) of a plurality of the wall panels and        the floor panels making up the steel house while, at the same        time, automatically calculating the specification information of        the light gauge shape sheet steel required for production of        each wall panel and each floor panel.

Such CAD system has registered therein the layout of each light gaugeshape sheet steel making up a given panel, the dimensional correction ofthe joint of each light gauge shape sheet steel and the logic about theposition of the fastening holes of each light gauge shape sheet steel.The user determines the shape of the light gauge shape sheet steel used,by the CAD system, and generates a panel layout diagram (see FIG. 9). Inthis way, each panel working drawing (see FIG. 10) and the productiondata of the shape steel and the hardware (order list information, seeFIG. 19) are automatically prepared.

The CAD system has a member totaling module in addition to the threeworking drawing generating modules including the wall panel, the floorpanel and the roof truss member making up the steel house as describedabove.

The wall panel drawing generating module is such that:

-   -   (1) Once the information on the cross section (information        including the fastening hole information) of the light gauge        shape sheet steel making up the wall panel is set by the user        (FIG. 4) and the position of the wall line and the opening size        are input as shown in the design drawing (FIG. 5), predetermined        light gauge shape sheet steel is automatically produced based on        the information from the user.    -   (2) By dividing the wall line by panel, the gaps between the        light gauge shape sheet steel and the panels required for the        panel boundary are automatically generated.    -   (3) Based on the steel house construction method, anchor bolts        and band metal are automatically generated. In the process, the        fastening hole information is input to those portions of the        upper and lower frames of the wall panel which interfere with        the anchor bolts.    -   (4) After completely arranging the light gauge shape sheet        steel, the dimensions of the joint portion of the light gauge        shape sheet steel are corrected in a single collective        operation.

The floor panel drawing generating module is such that:

-   -   (1) The cross section information (information including the        fastening hole information) of the light gauge shape sheet steel        making up the floor panel is set by the user and, at the time        when the range of the floor panel is designated as in the design        drawing, the light gauge shape sheet steel making up the floor        panel are automatically generated. At the same time, the        dimensions of the joints of the light gauge shape sheet steel        are also corrected.    -   (2) In the case where other floor panels are arranged        adjacently, the gaps between the panels and the light gauge        shape sheet steel newly required are automatically generated        based on the steel house construction method.    -   (3) The ties are automatically arranged based on the steel house        construction method.

The roof truss drawing generating module is such that:

-   -   (1) When the roof gradient, the span and the extension of the        eaves in addition to the cross section of the light gauge shape        sheet steel used are set by the user (FIG. 4), the light gauge        shape sheet steel is automatically produced based on the        designation of the truss position and the range of the hip roof        and the gable.    -   (2) with regard to the truss and the rafter, the members are        connected by bolts to each other, and the fastening hole        information are input predetermined positions of the particular        members based on the steel house construction method (FIGS. 15        and 16).    -   (3) After complete arrangement of the light gauge shape sheet        steel, the dimensions of the joints of the light gauge shape        sheet steel are corrected in a collective operation.

In the stage where the information is completely generated by thefunction as described above, the member totaling module automaticallytotals, by cross section or length, the information including the shape,length, quantity, hole shape and the hole position (design drawinginformation) of all the light gauge shape sheet steel used for the steelhouse existing in the CAD system. Based on this total, an order list(steel member order list) is prepared (FIG. 19).

Step S102: The order list generating unit 102 totals the specificationand the quantity of the light gauge shape sheet steel making up thesteel house from the design drawing information obtained in the designdrawing generating unit 101 by the member totaling module of the CADsystem described above, and based on them, an order list (steel memberorder list) is generated.

Step S103: The member production control unit 103 produces the lightgauge shape sheet steel by the CAM system based on the steel order listinformation obtained in the order list generating unit 102. Morespecifically, the member production control unit 103, for example,converts the steel member order list information obtained in the orderlist generating unit 102 to the data (control data) for operationcontrol of the equipment (member production machine) for producing thelight gauge shape sheet steel and supplies these control data to themember production machine. As a result, the member production machinestarts to produce the designated light gauge shape sheet steel.

FIGS. 4 to 20 show examples of screens (the screens due to the CAD/CAMsystems) displayed on the display unit 105 by the process up to theproduction of the light gauge shape sheet steel from the aforementioneddesign in the information processing system 100 according to thisexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The operation in accordance with the display on each screen of thedisplay unit 105 shown in FIGS. 4 to 19 and the manipulation(manipulation by mouse, etc.) of the user on the screen are controlledby the CPU 201 of the computer 200 shown in FIG. 2.

1. Setting Screen 501 for Cross Section, etc. of Light Gauge Shape SheetSteel (FIG. 4)

The setting screen 501 is configured so as to set the cross section,etc. of the light gauge shape sheet steel automatically arranged. Forexample, based on the design drawing, etc. of the steel house storedbeforehand in the storage unit 104, the desired one of the informationon the cross section (the cross section conforming with a predeterminedstandard) of the light gauge shape sheet steel also stored in advance inthe storage unit 104 can be selectively set. Therefore, the light gaugeshape sheet steel set on the setting screen 501 are automaticallyarranged as shown on the screen 506, etc. of FIG. 6 described hereinbelow.

2. Setting Screen 502 for Wall Position and Opening Position (OpeningSize) (FIG. 5)

The setting screen 502 is configured so that the positions of the walland the openings can be set. This setting is carried out based on thedesign drawing data, etc. of the steel house stored in advance in thestorage unit 104.

3. Screen 503 Showing the State of Light Gauge Shape Sheet SteelAutomatically Arranged (FIG. 6)

On the screen 503, the state of the light gauge shape sheet steelautomatically arranged with regard to the wall portion is displayedbased on the setting on the setting screen 501 and the setting screen502.

4. Screen 504 Showing the State of the Wall Divided into Panels (FIG. 7)

On the screen 504, the light gauge shape sheet steel automaticallyarranged with respect to the wall, shown on the screen 503 of FIG. 6, isdisplayed as a panel (wall panel) as a configuration combining theparticular light gauge shape sheet steel.

5. Screen 505 Showing the State of Hardware Automatically Arranged (FIG.8)

On the screen 505, the state in which the panel-to-panel joint (hardwareposition) automatically arranged by combining a plurality of light gaugeshape sheet steel on the screen 504 of FIG. 7 is displayed.

6. Screen 506 Showing the State in which the Plan View is AutomaticallyGenerated (FIG. 9)

On the screen 506, the layout of the panels automatically generatedbased the wall panel state shown on the screen of FIG. 7 and thehardware position shown on the screen 505 of FIG. 8 is displayed.

7. Screen 507 Showing the State in which each Panel Drawing isAutomatically Generated (FIG. 10)

On the screen 507, a panel drawing (the drawing showing the layout, etc.of the members conforming with the opening size) automatically generatedfor each panel in the panel layout drawing shown on the screen 506 ofFIG. 9 is displayed.

8. Setting Screen 508 of Assignment Area of each Floor Panel (FIG. 11)

The screen 508 is so configured that the assignment area of the panels(floor panels) configured by combining the light gauge shape sheet steelfor the floor portion can be set based on the setting by the settingscreen 501 and the setting screen 502.

9. Screen 509 Showing the State in which each Floor Panel Member isAutomatically Arranged (FIG. 12)

On the screen 509, the state of the light gauge shape sheet steel (floorpanel members) automatically arranged based on the setting on the screen508 of FIG. 11 is displayed.

10. Screen 510 Showing the State in which the Floor Plan isAutomatically Generated (FIG. 13)

On the screen 510, the light gauge shape sheet steel automaticallyarranged suitably with respect to positions of the light gauge shapesheet steel shown on the screen 509 of FIG. 12 are displayed.

11. Screen 511 for Determining Roof Area (FIG. 14)

The screen 511 is configured so that the shape, etc. of the roof portioncan be determined based on the setting on the setting screen 501 and thesetting on the setting screen 502.

12. Screen 512 Showing the State in which the Roof Truss Members areAutomatically Arranged (FIG. 15)

On the screen 512, the state of the light gauge shape sheet steel (rooftruss members) automatically arranged based on the determination on thescreen 511 of FIG. 14 is displayed.

13. Screen 513 Showing the State with the Truss Drawing AutomaticallyGenerated (FIG. 16)

On the screen 513, the truss drawing automatically generated based onthe arrangement of the light gauge shape sheet steel (roof trussmembers) shown on the screen 512 of FIG. 15 is displayed.

14. Screen 514 Showing the State Developed (Shape Steel) into TrussMembers (FIG. 17)

On the screen 514, the size, etc. of light gauge shape sheet steel (rooftruss members) making up the roof portion are displayed.

15. Screen 515 Showing the State Developed (Hardware) into the TrussMember (FIG. 18)

On the screen 515, the joints (hardware positions) of individual lightgauge shape sheet steel (roof truss members) making up the roof portionare displayed.

The setting of various information and the automatic arrangement of thelight gauge shape sheet steel in 1 to 15 above are implemented by thedesign drawing generating unit 101.

16. Screen 516 Showing the State in which the Shape Steel ProductionData are Automatically Totaled (FIG. 19)

On the screen 516, the order list (steel member order list) informationobtained by automatically totaling the information (design drawinggenerating unit 101) obtained from screens 501 to 515 of FIGS. 4 to 18is displayed. This automatic totaling operation is carried out by theorder list generating unit 102. Also, on the screen 516, the steelmember order list information can be transmitted. The transmission inthis case includes the transmission to the member production controlunit 103, and the transmission to the external devices through acommunication network described herein below. Thus, the memberproduction control unit 103, based on the steel member order listinformation transmitted from the screen 516 of FIG. 19, produces thelight gauge shape sheet steel under the control of the computer.

Incidentally, according to this exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the objective building is assumed to be a steel house, as anexample, and the building material is assumed to be the light gaugeshape sheet steel. It should be undesrtood that the present invention isnot limited to such materials. In addition, this exemplary embodiment isapplicable to the design and the member production for the entirebuilding or part thereof.

Also, according to this exemplary embodiment, the light gauge shapesheet steel are produced based on the design drawing informationacquired by the single information processing system 100. Thisinvention, however, is not limited to this case, but applicable to acase in which the order list information obtained based on the designdrawing information is obtained from an external source throughcommunication means, and based on this information, the light gaugeshape sheet steel may be produced. In particular, in the informationprocessing system 100, the order list information obtained by anexternal device having the function of the design drawing generatingunit 101 and the order list generating unit 102 are received through acommunication network (the network 300, etc. shown in FIG. 2).

The member production control unit 103, based on the receivedinformation (order list information), machines the sheet steel under thecontrol of computer and produces the light gauge shape sheet steel. As aresult, the building designer and the light gauge shape sheet steelmaker can automate the processing steps from the design to theproduction of the light gauge shape sheet steel in its entirety througha communication network.

Also, in the information processing system 100, for example, the orderlist information obtained by the external device having the function ofthe design drawing generating unit 101 and the order list generatingunit 102 or especially, the panel working drawing (panel workingdrawing) and the specification information obtained by assembling thelight gauge shape sheet steel are received through a communicationnetwork. The member production control unit 103, based on the receivedinformation (the panel working drawing and the specificationinformation) and the information on the light gauge shape sheet steelrequired for panel production stored beforehand in the storage unit 104,assembles the light gauge shape sheet steel and produces panels underthe control of computer. In this way, not only the production of thelight gauge shape sheet steel from the design stage but the wholeprocess up to the panel assembly step can be automated in its entirety.

One of the objects of the present invention can of course be achievedalso in such a manner that a storage medium storing the program code ofthe software for implementing the functions of the host and theterminals according to the embodiment is supplied to a system or adevice, and the computer (CPU or MPU) of the particular system or thedevice reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.In this case, the program code read from the storage medium implementsthe functions of this embodiment and the storage medium for storing theparticular program is included in this invention.

The storage media that can be used for providing the program codeinclude a ROM, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, amagneto-optic disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape or a non-volatilememory card.

Also, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can be appliedfor a case in which by executing the program code read by the computer,not only the functions of this embodiment are implemented, but alsobased on the instruction of this program code, the OS (operatingsystem), etc. operating on the computer executes a part or the whole ofactual processing, whereby the functions of this embodiment areimplemented.

Further, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can be appliedfor a case in which the program code read from the storage medium iswritten into a memory associated with the function extension boardinserted in the computer or the function extension unit connected to thecomputer, after which based on the instruction of the particular programcode, the CPU of the function extension board or the function extensionunit, as the case may be, executes a part or all of the actualprocessing, whereby the functions of this embodiment are implemented.

As described above, according to the present invention, the productionof the building members can be realized by the CAD/CAM systems.Therefore, the building materials can be efficiently produced. Inparticulat, the following effects can be exhibited:

-   -   (1) By inputting the design conditions of an objective building,        the wall panel drawing, the floor panel drawing and the roof        truss drawing can be automatically generated.    -   (2) From the design drawing information such as the wall panel        drawing, the floor panel drawing and the roof truss drawing, the        members used for the objective building are directly totaled and        a list of the members (steel member order list) can be prepared.    -   (3) Using the member list information (CAD data), the CAM system        for producing the building materials can be connected.

Another embodiment of the present invention is explained below withreference to FIGS. 20 to 26.

Referring to FIGS. 20 and 21, an equipment 1 for producing the lightgauge shape sheet steel for a steel house according to this inventioncomprises an uncoiler 2 for rewinding the sheet steel curled in a coil,a leveler 3 for straightening the sheet steel, an end portion cutter 4for cutting the front end portion to a predetermined shape afterstraightening, a non-stationary fastening hole forming machine 5 forforming the fastening holes not requiring a high machining accuracy inthe sheet steel in motion, a waiting table 7 for keeping in a standbystate the sheet steel formed with the fastening holes, a stationaryfastening hole forming machine 8 for forming the fastening holesrequiring a high machining accuracy, and a roll forming machine 9 forforming the sheet steel formed with the fastening holes into the lightgauge shape sheet steel for a steel house having a predetermined crosssection by the roll forming method. The uncoiler 2, the leveler 3, theend portion cutter 4, the non-stationary fastening hole forming machine5, the waiting table 7, the stationary fastening hole forming machine 8and the roll forming machine 9 make up a main production line.

Further, the equipment 1 for producing the light gauge shape sheet steelfor a steel house comprises a special member machining unit 6. Thisspecial member machining unit 6, after the fastening holes are formed bythe non-stationary fastening hole forming machine 5 and the rear end ofthe sheet steel is cut to a predetermined size and shape by the endportion cutter 4, machines the sheet steel to a special shape withoutstopping the flow of the main production line 2 to 9. The sheet steelmachined by the special member machining unit 6 are returned again tothe waiting table 7 of the main production line.

The fastening holes not requiring very high machining accuracy formed bythe non-stationary fastening hole forming machine 5 include thefastening holes for connecting the light gauge shape sheet steel of thesteel house to the structural face plates and the fastening holes forpassing the electrical wiring. These fastening holes do not require highmachining accuracy due to their intended applications. The fasteningholes requiring high machining accuracy formed by the stationaryfastening hole forming machine 8, on the other hand, include thefastening holes for connecting the light gauge shape sheet steel for thesteel house. These fastening holes require high accuracy due to theirpositioning function in connecting the panels to each other.

Then, the CAD system for automatically generating the fastening holeinformation is explained with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23.

In the CAD system, members including a runner, a stud and a reinforcingmember are arranged as shown in FIG. 23, and connected to each other todesign a building. In the process, the fastening hole informationincluding the joint between the runner and the stud, the joint betweenthe reinforcing member and the stud, the joint between the stud and thestructural face plate and the wiring holes formed in the stud areautomatically generated from the attributes of the individual members.The fastening hole information automatically generated at the time ofdesigning a building by the CAD system are fetched as member controlinformation for the production control system.

In FIG. 23, character a designates the joint between the stud and therunner, and the fastening holes of each member has a high machiningaccuracy due to the positioning function between them. Character bdesignates a joint for mounting the reinforcing member on the stud, andrequires not so high machining accuracy as the joint a. Character cdesignates a hole for electrical wiring or a fastening hole for mountingthe stud on the structural face plate, and does not require a highmachining accuracy.

In the computer-controlled production control system for the productionline of the light gauge shape sheet steel of a steel house, the shapesteel has a two-dimensional cross section after being roll formed. Inorder to form the fastening holes by the non-stationary fastening holeforming machine and the stationary fastening hole forming machine,therefore, the positions of the fastening holes are required to betwo-dimensionally controlled. According to this invention, the shapesteel having a two-dimensional cross section is developed into a flatsurface and the positions of the fastening holes are controlled asone-dimensional information with a reference axis along the length ofthe members for each surface.

Referring to FIG. 24A, the sheet steel is formed by the roll formingequipment into a C-frame shape steel 20 having a two-dimensional crosssection. As an example, the C-frame shape steel 20 shown in FIG. 24A hasfive faces 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. According to this exemplary embodimentof the present invention, such C-frame shape steel 20 is developed intoa flat surface as shown in FIG. 24B, and the positions of the fasteningholes to be formed in the five faces 21 to 25 are controlled asone-dimensional information along the longitudinal reference axis. As aresult, the data management of the positions of the fastening holes isfacilitated, thereby making it possible to easily control thenon-stationary fastening hole forming machine 5 and the stationaryfastening hole forming machine 8.

According to the present invention, the shape steel is classified into ageneral member, an application member and a special member. Referring toFIG. 25, the general member 30 has a shape with the two ends of sheetsteel cut at right angles. The application member 31, with the endportions thereof cut not at right angles, is cut only at the endportions of sheet steel. The special member 32 should not only to be cutat the end portions thereof, but also to be machined.

The application member 31, whose shape of the cut end portions may bestandardized in the future, can be machined on the main production linelike the general member 30 when being cut by the end portion cutter 4following the straightening step by the leveler 3. The special member32, due to its unique machining position, would require an exclusivemachining unit and the machining operation would affect the productivityof the whole production line, if produced on the main production line.In the production equipment 1 of the light gauge shape sheet steel of asteel house according to the invention, therefore, the special member 32is returned to the main production line after completion of the commonmachining operation on the main production line and the machiningoperation off line by the special member machining unit 6.

Next, referring to FIG. 26, the production control system according tothe present invention is explained herein below.

The production control system 40 can be implemented with a computer andhas a machining control unit 41. The machining control unit 41 hasstored therein the member machining information including the membernumbers, the steel material standard (plating type), the shapeinformation, length, width and the shape and type of the fasteningholes, the requirement or no requirement of high machining accuracy, andthe positions and number of the fastening holes, for the light gaugeshape sheet steel of each of a plurality of types of steel house to beproduced, so that the production process is controlled based on thesemember machining information. The machining control unit 41 includes theleveler 3 of the production equipment 1 for the light gauge shape sheetsteel of the steel house, the end portion cutter 4, a control unit 42for the non-stationary fastening hole forming machine 5, a control unit43 for the waiting table 7, the control unit 44 for the stationaryfastening hole forming machine 8, a control unit 45 for the roll formingmachine 9 and a control unit 46 for controlling the operation ofprinting the serial numbers or the like on an ink jet printer 10. Also,in the machining control unit 41, the shape steel actually produced isrecorded as a machining achievement record 47.

The machining control unit 41 has determining means (not shown) fordiscriminating, based on the member machining information, the memberused for production into one of the general member 30, the applicationmember 31 and the special member 32 during the process preceding to theleveler 3. The machining control unit 41 determines, based on the resultof determination in the determining means, whether the member to bemachined is to be produced on the main production line 3 to 9 or to bemachined off line by the special member machining unit 6.

The main production line executes (1) the step of straightening by theleveler 3, (2) the step of forming the fastening holes not requiringhigh machining accuracy by the non-stationary fastening hole formingmachine 5, (3) the step of cutting the end portions of the sheet steelby the end portion cutter 4, (4) the step of waiting on the waitingtable 7, (5) the step of forming the fastening holes requiring highmachining accuracy by the stationary fastening hole forming machine 8,(6) the step of forming into shape steel by the roll forming machine 9,and (7) the step of printing the serial number, etc. on the formed shapesteel by the ink jet printer 10, in that order.

The off-line production process by the special member machining unit 6includes (8) the step of machining to a special shape the special member32 passed through the steps (1) to (3) on the main production line, and(9) the step of returning the special member thus machined to thespecial shape back to the waiting table 7 on the main production line,in that order. When moving the special member 32 from the mainproduction line to the special member machining unit 6, a control signalis transmitted to the computer and the data thereof is stored in themachining control unit 41. When the special member 32 that has beenmachined to the special shape in the off-line production process isreturned to the waiting table 7 of the main production line, a controlsignal to that effect is transmitted to the computer and the data isstored in the machining control unit 41. The subsequent steps ofproduction of the special member 32 are incorporated into the productioncontrol system of the main production line.

In the case where a member to be machined is determined to be a generalmember 30 or an application member 31, the machining control unit 41transmits the control information to the control units 42 to 47 based onthe member machining control information, and thereby controls the steps(1) to (7) of the main production line.

In the case where a member to be machined is determined to be a specialmember by the determining means, at the end of steps (1) to (3), themachining control unit 41, based on the member machining information,sends a control signal to the transfer means for transferring thespecial member 32 from the main production line to the special membermachining unit 6, and thereby transfers the special member 32 to thespecial member machining unit 6. The control signal indicating that thespecial member 32 has been transferred to the special member machiningunit 6 is transmitted to the machining control unit 41 from the transfermeans and stored as data. The special member 32 is machined to specialshape off line by the special member machining unit 6, and then returnedto the waiting table on the main production line. In the process, thecontrol signal is transmitted to the machining control unit 41 andstored as data.

As described above, the special member 32 which is difficult to machineon the main production line is machined on the main production line forthe common machining operation and machined off line to a special shapeby the special member machining unit 6. After this machining operation,the special member 32 is returned to the main production line. In thisway, the production control system for the light gauge shape sheet steelof a steel house including the general member 30, the application member31 and the special member 32 is implemented.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, inaddition to the fastening hole forming step with the conventionalstationary fastening hole forming machine, the fastening holes areformed by the non-stationary fastening hole forming machine withoutstopping the work flow in the leveler stage, thereby improving theproductivity of the whole production line of the light gauge shape sheetsteel of the steel house. Further, the fastening holes are divided intothose not requiring high machining accuracy and those requiring highmachining accuracy, and the fastening holes not requiring high machiningaccuracy are formed by the non-stationary fastening hole machine withoutstopping the work flow, while the fastening holes requiring highmachining accuracy are formed by the stationary fastening hole formingmachine by stopping the movement of the work. Thus, the assembly workfor constructing a steel house of the prefabricated building materialsis facilitated.

Also, in the computer-controlled production control system for producingthe light gauge shape sheet steel of a steel house according to thepresent invention, the general member, the application member and thespecial member are discriminated in the leveler step based on the membercontrol information of the production control system, so that thegeneral member and the application member are machined on the mainproduction line, while the special member, after being machined on themain production line for the common machining process, is machined offline to a special shape and then returned to the main production line.In this manner, the production of even the special member which isdifficult to machine on the main production line can be controlled bythe production line production control system, thereby improving theflexibility of the production process.

Further, in the computer-controlled production control system forproducing the light gauge shape sheet steel for a steel house accordingto the present invention, a steel house is designed by the CAD system insuch a manner that the information including the positions, size and themachining accuracy of the fastening holes are generated automatically inaccordance with the attribute of each member, and by fetching theparticular fastening hole information into the member controlinformation, a multiplicity of the fastening hole information can beefficiently controlled.

In view of the fact that the shape steel has a two-dimensional shape ofthe cross section after roll forming, the position information of thefastening holes formed in the shape steel are required to be controlledtwo-dimensionally. According to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, in contrast, the shape steel is developed into a flatsurface, and the position information of the fastening holes iscontrolled one-dimensionally along the length of each member for eachportion of the developed shape steel, thereby making it possible toeasily control the process of forming the fastening holes.

A building information distribution aiding system according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention is explained below withreference to FIGS. 27 to 30.

A building information distribution aiding system 400 according to thisexemplary embodiment comprises a server 412 for providing a buildinginformation distribution site 410, and clients 414 a, 414 b, 414 c andso on used by the party (hereinafter referred to as a contractor)designing and/or constructing a building according to the steel houseconstruction method. The server 412 and the clients 414 a, 414 b, 414 cand so on are connected by a communication line thereby making up anetwork (WAN) 420. The communication line may include a known wire orwireless communication system such as a dedicated line, a generaltelephone line, ISDN, DSL, a portable telephone line, a subscriptionradio access system, a radio LAN system or a CATV network.

The server 412, in order to provide a building information distributionsite 400 accessible through the network 20 from the clients 414 a, 414b, 414 c and so on, includes a CPU, a RAM (random access memory), a diskdrive unit for storing the internal information of the buildinginformation distribution site 400, and an interface unit such as anEthernet card or a modem for transmitting and receiving data to and fromthe clients 414 a, 414 b, 414 c and so on. The server 412 is preferablyan ASP (application service provider) for controlling the applications.This is to specify the participants accessible to the buildinginformation distribution site 400 by password authentication while atthe same time securing the quality of the steel house by limiting thecontractors satisfying predetermined standards according to theinvention. Also, by employing ASP, the burden on the clients 414 a, 414b, 414 c and so on and the system administration cost can be reduced.

According to this exemplary embodiment, objects to be distributedinclude the building information such as the structural design, theframework panel working drawing, the framework panel layout and theproduction data of the steel house. The building information to bedistributed is not limited to those prepared by contractors but may bethat prepared by the manager. Also, the building information to bedistributed has attached thereto a reference number for management, anda uniform file is used by the type of data included in the buildinginformation to facilitate distribution of the building information amongthe contractors and to permit the design change by the contractors. Thefile of each building information may be that of widely usedapplications. For example, the building design, the shape steel orderand the production data may be the spreadsheet software in the form suchas Excel (trade mark) (xls file) of Microsoft, while the framework panelworking drawing and the framework panel layout drawing may be CADsoftware in the form (dwg file) such as for AutoCAD (trade mark) ofAutodesk.

The building information distribution site 400, as shown in FIG. 1,includes at least a case collection page 430, an order page 440 and anew reception page 450.

The case collection page 430 exhibits actual cases of the steel houseconstructed based on the building information. As case a, case b, . . ., case n, for example, the photos, layout, area, number of steps and thelike information of buildings completed are illustrated for each case,and can be retrieved by the construction period, building area,reference number, etc. of each building.

The order page 440 is configured of a design order page 442 used by thecontractors to purchase the building information, and a design orderpage 448 used for purchasing the members required for construction. Thedesign order page 442 is configured of a building information order page444 for the contractor to transmit the building information order to themanager and a building information delivery page 446 for the manager tosupply the building information to the contractors. The design orderpage 442 and the member order page 448 are prepared in a folder or adirectory unique to each contractor, each of which is accessible only bythe manager and the corresponding contractor.

The new reception page 450 can be used by the contractor to sell thebuilding information to the manager, and the building information of thesteel house is delivered to the manager from the contractor through thenew reception page 450.

The clients 414 a, 414 b, 414 c and so forth on the part of thecontractor can be formed of ordinary personal computers, and include aCPU, a RAM, a disk drive for storing the building information, and aninterface unit such as an Ethernet card or a modem for transmitting andreceiving the data to and from a server 412. Also, the clients 414 a,414 b, 414 c and so forth are installed with means of editing thebuilding information such as the application software (Excel (trademark) of Microsoft or AutoCAD (trade mark) of Autodesk) that can editthe format of the xls file and dwg file of the building information.

The operation of the building information distribution aiding systemaccording to the invention is explained below with reference to FIGS. 2to 4.

First, the contractor studying the distribution of the buildinginformation in the building information distribution site 400 accessesthe server 412 through the network 20 by the clients 414 a, 414 b, 414 cand so on, and after being authenticated by the account and thepassword, logs in to the building information distribution site 400(step S10). Next, in the case collection page 430 carrying a pluralityof actual cases a, b, . . . , n, an actual case having the desired planis selected (step S12). In the process, the contractor can efficientlyfind an actual case to be purchased, by use of the search systemdescribed above.

The contractor can log out as soon as no actual case having the desiredplan cannot be found as the result of search (step S22). Assume that thecontractor has found the desired plan in the case collection page 430,on the other hand, or in the case where the contractor has decided touse the case a of a steel house A. The contractor goes through theprocedure for acquiring the building information of the steel house A inthe design order page 442 in the order page 440 (step S14).Specifically, the contractor transmits to the server 412 through thebuilding information order page 444 a building information orderincluding the items for specifying the contractor, the reference numberof the building information to be purchased and an expression of thewill to purchase the particular building information. By transmittingthe building information order to the server 412, a building informationpurchase agreement for the steel house A is concluded (step S16). Inorder to authenticate the validity of the procedure, it is desirable toemploy an electronic signature system in which the contractor encryptsthe building information order with a secret key, and the managerdecrypts the order with a public key or an authentication system using adigital certificate issued from the manager or the company providing theauthentication service.

The contractor, upon transmission of the building information order tothe server 412, logs out from the building information distribution site400 (step S22) or standing by as it is, downloads the buildinginformation purchased, as described later.

The server 412, upon receipt of the building information order throughthe building information order page 444, specifies the contractor fromthe items described in the building information order, and stores thebuilding information order in a predetermined file by relating it to thecontractor, while at the same time storing the building information ofthe steel house A in the download folder of the contractor (step S18).From this time point, the contractor that has purchased the buildinginformation of the steel house A can download the building informationfrom the building information delivery page 446 (step S20). Thecontractor that has logged out from the building informationdistribution site 400 before downloading the building informationpurchased is of course required to log in to the building informationdistribution site 400 again to download the particular buildinginformation.

The contractor that has downloaded the building information of the steelhouse A uses the building information of the steel house A as it is, oredits the building information of the steel house A as required usingthe application software installed in the clients 414 a, 414 b, 414 c,and so on. In this way, the contractor can design a building B as asteel house as corrected from the steel house A. According to thisinvention, the building information is unified in file format, andtherefore the edit work can be carried out very easily.

The shape steel, etc. of the steel house can be ordered (FIG. 3) throughthe member order page 448 of the order page 440 in the buildinginformation distribution site 400. Specifically, the contractor thatpurchases for a member logs in to the building information distributionsite 400 (step S30), and places an order for the member by transmittingfrom the member order page 448 to the server 412 a member orderincluding the items for specifying the contractor and the expression ofthe will to purchase the member described in the specification, and aspecification of the member to be purchased (step S32). At this timepoint, the purchase agreement for the particular member is concluded(step S34). After placing the order for the member, the contractor canlog out from the server 412 (step S36). To meet the requirement forauthentication of the validity of the procedure, preferably, anelectronic signature system is employed in which the contractor encryptsthe member order and the specification with a secret key and the managerdecrypts them with a public key, or an authentication system using adigital certificate issued from the manager or the company providing theauthentication service.

The server 412 stores the member order and the specification receivedthrough the member order page 448 in the corresponding folder of thecontractor (step S38), while at the same time transmitting them as anorder data to the server (not shown) of each department of production,distribution and accounting of the corresponding member (step S40).

The contractor can prepare in a predetermined format and sell thebuilding information of the steel house that has been constructed in thepast, through the new reception page 450 in the building informationdistribution site 400 (FIG. 4). In this case, the contractor logs in tothe building information distribution site 400 (step S50), and transmitsto the server 412, through the new reception page 450, an offer to sellthe building information including the items to specify the contractor,the expression of the desire to sell the building information throughthe building information distribution site 400, etc. and the buildinginformation to be sold (step S52). At this time point, the contractorcan log out from the building information distribution site 400 (stepS54). To meet the requirement for authentication of the validity of theprocedure, it is desirable to employ an electronic signature system inwhich the contractor encrypts the offer to sell the building informationand the building information to be sold with a secret key and themanager decrypts them with a public key, or an authentication systemusing a digital certificate issued from the manager or the companyproviding the authentication service.

The server 412 stores the offer to sell the building information and thebuilding information transmitted, in a predetermined folder such as afolder on the hard drive of the personal computer of the person incharge, by studying the purchase of the new building information (stepS56). In step S58, the purchase of the new building information isstudied, and in the case where the new building information ispurchased, the will to purchase the new building information is sent tothe contractor using the communication means such as E-mail (step S60),and the new building information is carried in the case collection page(step S64). In the case where it is determined in step S58 that the newbuilding information is not purchased, the wish not to purchase the newbuilding information is transmitted to the contractor using thecommunication means such as E-mail (step S62).

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, thecontractor on one party that provides (sells) the building informationcan gain a profit from the building information which otherwise mightnot have been reused in the future on the one hand, and the contractoron the other party who uses (purchases) the building information cansimplify the design work on the other hand. Especially, the buildinginformation distributed according to this invention is digital data easyto edit and can be modified by the purchaser. Therefore, the purchaser,without the structure and the equipment completely coincident with thedesired building, can easily select the desired building information.

In addition, according to the present invention, the manager can extendand promote the use of the buildings such as a steel house by providingthe chance of distribution of the building information. Especially inthe case where the manager is a member supplier, both the manager andthe contractor can conduct the business efficiently by placing an orderfor parts through the building information distribution site. On theother hand, the manager providing the building information can gain aprofit without paying the cost of purchasing the building information.

1-25. (Canceled).
 26. An information processing system for producing abuilding material, comprising: a design drawing generating arrangementconfigured to generate design drawing information of an objectivebuilding; a list generating arrangement configured to generate listinformation of members used for the objective building, the list beinggenerated based on the design drawing information generated by thedesign drawing generating arrangement; and a member production controlarrangement configured to control a production of the members used forthe objective building, the production being controlled based on thelist information generated by the list generating arrangement.
 27. Theinformation processing system according to claim 26, wherein the designdrawing generating arrangement includes a computer aided design (“CAD”)system for generating the design drawing information, and wherein themember production control arrangement includes a computer aidedmanufacturing (“CAM”) system for controlling the production of themembers.
 28. The information processing system according to claim 26,wherein the design drawing information includes particular drawinginformation of at least one of a wall panel drawing, a floor paneldrawing and a roof truss drawing.
 29. The information processing systemaccording to claim 26, wherein the list generating arrangementgenerates, as the list information, particular information includingspecification and quantity of the members used for the objectivebuilding.
 30. The information processing system according to claim 29,wherein the specification of the members includes the information forpositioning the members when the members are assembled.
 31. Theinformation processing system according to claim 26, wherein the listgenerating arrangement generates the list information for eachpredetermined one of the members.
 32. An information processing systemfor producing a building material, comprising: a communicationarrangement configured to conduct communication with an externalarrangement; and a member production control arrangement adapted tocontrol a production of members used for an objective building, theproduction of the members being controlled based on information receivedby the communication arrangement, wherein the communication arrangementreceives list information of the members used for the objective buildingfrom the external arrangement, the list information being generatedbased on design drawing information of the objective building.
 33. Amethod for producing a building material, comprising the steps of:generating design drawing information of an objective building using aprocessing arrangement; generating list information of members used forthe objective building, the list information being generated based onthe design drawing information; and controlling a production of themembers used for the objective building based on the list information.34. The method according to claim 33, further comprising step oftransmitting the list information via an arbitrary network from a firstarrangement for executing the design drawing generating step and thelist generating step, to a second arrangement for executing the memberproduction control step.
 35. A method for producing a building material,comprising the steps of: generating design drawing information whichincludes at least any one of a wall panel drawing, a floor panel drawingand a roof truss drawing of an objective building by a computer aideddesign (“CAD”) system; generating list information by utilizingspecification and quantity of the members used for the objectivebuilding, the list information being generated based on the designdrawing information; and producing members used for the objectivebuilding based on the list information by a computer aided manufacturing(“CAM”) system.
 36. The method according to claim 35, wherein thespecification of the members includes positioning information forassembling the members.
 37. The method according to claim 35, whereinthe list generating step includes the substep of generating the listinformation for each panel used for the objective building.
 38. Acomputer-readable storage medium which stores a program thereon, theprogram being capable to configure a processing arrangement to executethe steps comprising of: generating design drawing information of anobjective building using a processing arrangement; generating listinformation of members used for the objective building, the listinformation being generated based on the design drawing information; andcontrolling a production of the members used for the objective buildingbased on the list information.
 39. A computer-readable storage mediumwhich stores a program thereon, the program being capable to configure aprocessing arrangement to execute the steps comprising of: generatingdesign drawing information which includes at least any one of a wallpanel drawing, a floor panel drawing and a roof truss drawing of anobjective building by a computer aided design (“CAD”) system; generatinglist information by utilizing specification and quantity of the membersused for the objective building, the list information being generatedbased on the design drawing information; and producing members used forthe objective building based on the list information by a computer aidedmanufacturing (“CAM”) system.
 40. A program being capable to configure aprocessing arrangement to execute the steps comprising of: generatingdesign drawing information of an objective building using a processingarrangement; generating list information of members used for theobjective building, the list information being generated based on thedesign drawing information; and controlling a production of the membersused for the objective building based on the list information.
 41. Aprogram being capable to configure a processing arrangement to executethe steps comprising of: generating design drawing information whichincludes at least any one of a wall panel drawing, a floor panel drawingand a roof truss drawing of an objective building by a computer aideddesign (“CAD”) system; generating list information by utilizingspecification and quantity of the members used for the objectivebuilding, the list information being generated based on the designdrawing information; and producing members used for the objectivebuilding based on the list information by a computer aided manufacturing(“CAM”) system.
 42. An equipment for producing light gauge shape sheetsteel for a steel house by supplying flat sheet steel on a mainproduction line which includes an uncoiler, a leveler arrangeddownstream of the uncoiler, an end portion cutter arranged downstream ofthe leveler, a waiting table arranged downstream of the end portioncutter, a stationary fastening hole forming machine arranged downstreamof the waiting table, and a roll forming machine arranged downstream ofthe stationary fastening hole forming machine, the equipment comprising:a non-stationary fastening hole forming machine configured to formfastening holes without stopping a supply of the sheet steel, thenon-stationary fastening hole forming machine being arranged downstreamof the leveler, and independent of the stationary fastening hole formingmachine.
 43. The equipment according to claim 42, wherein the fasteningholes that do not require a high machining accuracy are formed by thenon-stationary fastening hole forming machine arranged during anoperation of the leveler, and wherein the fastening holes that requirethe high machining accuracy are formed by the stationary fastening holeforming machine.
 44. A computer-controlled production control system,comprising: an equipment for producing a light gauge shape sheet steelfor a steel house, the equipment including a general member constitutinga basic structure, an application member having a shape different at endportions thereof from the general member, and a further member subjectedto a machining procedure, wherein the equipment comprises a mainproduction line including an uncoiler, a leveler arranged downstream ofthe uncoiler, an end portion cutter arranged downstream of the leveler,a waiting table arranged downstream of the end portion cutter, astationary fastening hole forming machine arranged downstream of thewaiting table and a roll forming machine arranged downstream of thestationary fastening hole forming machine, and a further production linearranged in parallel to the main production line, wherein the generalmember, the application member and the further member are distinguishedfrom one another before the usage of the leveler based on member controlinformation of the production control system, and wherein the generalmember and the application member are produced on the production line,and the further member is transferred to the further production linethat different from the main production line after being machined inprocedures shared by the general member and the application member onthe main production line, the special member being returned to the mainproduction line after being machined to a shape that is unique to thefurther member on the special production line.
 45. The productioncontrol system according to claim 44, wherein, in order to generate afastening hole information of the member control information, a computeraided design (“CAD”) system building is designed so that the fasteninghole information that includes the position, shape and the machiningaccuracy of the fastening holes are generated automatically inaccordance with individual attributes of the members, and wherein thegenerated fastening hole information is obtained as the member controlinformation.
 46. The production control system according to claim 45,wherein one of the member having a two-dimensional cross section after aroll forming process and requiring a two-dimensional control fordevelopment information associated with the fastening hole position isproduced, and wherein the development information is controlled as aone-dimensional information along a length of the one of the members foreach shape of the one of the members.
 47. A building informationdistribution aiding system including a server arrangement configured toprovide a building information distribution site for distributingbuilding information of a building having common standards of materialsand construction processes, and a client arrangement connectable withthe server arrangement via a network, the system comprising: a firstarrangement which is capable to program at least one of the serverarrangement, the client arrangement and a further arrangement to allowsaid server to indicate actual cases of buildings; a second arrangementwhich is capable to program at least one of the server arrangement, theclient arrangement and a further arrangement to allow the clientarrangement to select at least one of the actual cases shown in a casecollection page; and a third arrangement which is capable to program atleast one of the server arrangement, the client arrangement and afurther arrangement to allow the building information corresponding tothe selected actual case to be forwarded to the client arrangement. 48.The building information distribution aiding system according to claim47, wherein the server arrangement includes a fourth arrangement whichis adapted to receive a member order and a specification from the clientarrangement.
 49. The building information distribution aiding systemaccording to claim 47, comprising: a fifth arrangement which is capableto program at least one of the server arrangement, the clientarrangement and a further arrangement to allow the client arrangement totransmit to the server arrangement one of the building informationcorrected from the downloaded building information and the buildinginformation newly generated by the client arrangement as new buildinginformation; a sixth arrangement which is capable to program at leastone of the server arrangement, the client arrangement and a furtherarrangement to allow the server arrangement to receive the new buildinginformation from the client arrangement; and a seventh arrangement whichis capable to program at least one of the server arrangement, the clientarrangement and a further arrangement to allow a manager of the serverarrangement to transmit to the client arrangement an expression of awill to purchase the new building information when the manager of theserver arrangement decided to purchase the received new buildinginformation.